DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Application No. DE10 2020 126 392.9, filed on 10/08/2020.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 11-13, 15, and 19-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Noboru et al. (JP 3747536 B2, hereinafter Noboru).
Regarding claim 11, Noboru discloses a water dispenser (Para. 0007, “A first beverage supply system 4, a second beverage supply system 5 for supplying a beverage other than a coffee beverage to the cup 21, such as carbonated beverages and noncarbonated beverages, and hot water used for extraction of coffee beverages.”, where water is dispensed through the coffee, carbonated beverage, or noncarbonated beverage), comprising:
a heater for dispensing warm water (Page 14, line 2, “39 Heater”, and Para. 0009, “The hot water tank 38 heats the supplied tap water 30a to form hot water 30b for extraction at a set temperature (for example, 95 to 97 °C.), and hot water for supplying hot water 30b to an extraction device 41 described later”); and
a dosing valve through which carbon dioxide can be introduced into the heater (Para. 0021, “The carbon dioxide gas treatment system 6B according to the second embodiment is to make carbon dioxide gas act on the hot water 30b in the hot water tank 38 to make the hot water 30b neutral or acidic, and carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 50 is used. A pressure reducing valve 61B for reducing the pressure to a predetermined pressure (for example, 0.3 to 1 atm), a gas pipe 38b connecting between the pressure reducing valve 61B and the bottom of the hot water tank 38, and a gas electromagnetic valve interposed in the gas pipe 38b”, where Fig. 4 shows that the heater for dispensing warm water 39 is located with a tank 38, where the carbon dioxide is introduced into the tank through line 38b, where the dosing valve is the gas electromagnetic valve 64).
Regarding claim 12, Noboru teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein the heater is a boiler (Page 14, line 2, “39 Heater”, where Fig. 4 shows that the heater 39 is located within a tank 38 and would have direct heat transfer with the water within the tank, meaning that it is part of a boiler or container for heating water) and wherein the dosing valve is a switching valve (Para. 0021, “The controller controls the opening of the gas solenoid valve 64 so that the hot water 30b is close to the target PH.”, where applicant’s Specification, Page 7, “The switching valves are in particular in the form of solenoid valves”, where the gas solenoid valve 64 would be a type of switching valve).
Regarding claim 13, Noboru teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a cooled carbonator for dispensing carbonated water (Para. 0012, “a water supply pipe 33a between the cooling pipe 35 and the dilution water electromagnetic valve 31B. The generated cooling water 30a and the carbon dioxide introduced from the pressure reducing valve 51 via the gas pipe 51a are mixed to generate carbonated water, and the generated carbonated water is supplied to the cup 21 via the carbonated water electromagnetic valve 53. A carbonator 54”, where the carbonator 54 would receive cooled water), which can be connected to a pressurized carbon dioxide container (Para. 0012, “pressure reducing valve 51 via the gas pipe 51a are mixed to generate carbonated water”, where the carbonator is connected to a pressurized carbon dioxide container through the gas pipe 51a, Para. 0012, “a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 50 as a pressure vessel for supplying carbon dioxide gas at a high pressure (for example, 40 atmospheres or more)”).
Regarding claim 15, Noboru teaches the apparatus according to claim 12, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a controller which controls the introduction of carbon dioxide via the switching valve on a time basis and/or on a volume basis (Para. 0021, “The controller controls the opening of the gas solenoid valve 64 so that the hot water 30b is close to the target PH.”, where the amount of carbon dioxide gas introduced into the hot water is based on the volume of hot water and the time basis of gas, Para. 0015, “For example, when carbon dioxide gas is allowed to act on 150 cc of hot water 30b for about 3 to 4 seconds, PH becomes about 5.5, and when carbon dioxide gas is allowed to act for about 0.5 to 1 second, PH becomes about 6.5.”).
Regarding claim 19, Noboru discloses a method for operating a water dispenser (Abstract, “an extracted beverage manufacturing apparatus applied to a cup-type vending machine that extracts coffee, black tea, green tea, oolong tea and the like from raw materials and sells them in cups.”, where the production of water dispensed includes steps, Para. 0030, “evaluation of the storability of the coffee beverage when carbon dioxide gas is allowed to act on
the stirring step will be described.”) that comprises a heater for heating water (Page 14, line 2, “39 Heater”, and Para. 0009, “The hot water tank 38 heats the supplied tap water 30a to form hot water 30b for extraction at a set temperature (for example, 95 to 97 °C.), and hot water for supplying hot water 30b to an extraction device 41 described later”),
the method comprising: supplying carbon dioxide to the heater (Para. 0021, “The carbon dioxide gas treatment system 6B according to the second embodiment is to make carbon dioxide gas act on the hot water 30b in the hot water tank 38 to make the hot water 30b neutral or acidic, and carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 50 is used. A pressure reducing valve 61B for reducing the pressure to a predetermined pressure (for example, 0.3 to 1 atm), a gas pipe 38b connecting between the pressure reducing valve 61B and the bottom of the hot water tank 38, and a gas electromagnetic valve interposed in the gas pipe 38b”, where Fig. 4 shows that the heater for dispensing warm water 39 is located with a tank 38, where the carbon dioxide is introduced into the tank through line 38b, where the dosing valve is the gas electromagnetic valve 64).
Regarding claim 20, Noboru teaches the method according to claim 19, as set forth above, discloses wherein the supplying of carbon dioxide is effected so as to adjust the pH in the heater to between 6.5 and 7.0 (Para. 0015, “In this 1st Embodiment, the control part is performing the open control of the gas solenoid valve 62 so that it may become the hot water 30b near target PH. For example, when carbon dioxide gas is allowed to act on 150 cc of hot water 30b for about 3 to 4 seconds, PH becomes about 5.5, and when carbon dioxide gas is allowed to act for about 0.5 to 1 second, PH becomes about 6.5.”).
Regarding claim 21, Noboru teaches the method according to claim 19, as set forth above, discloses wherein the water in the heater is heated to at least 80 °C (Para. 0015, “The control unit determines that the hot water 30b is set to a set temperature (95 to 97 °C.) from the management data of the sale product and consumption information of the hot water 30b (such as the water replacement status in the hot water tank 38).”); and/or
wherein the supplying of carbon dioxide is effected via two solenoid valves, which are clocked alternately (Para. 0012, “A pressure reducing valve 51 for reducing the pressure to 5 atmospheres (for example, 5 to 6 atmospheres) and a cooling water tank 36 are disposed through a check pipe 52”, and Para. 0021, “a gas pipe 38b connecting between the pressure reducing valve 61B and the bottom of the hot water tank 38”).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noboru et al. (JP 3747536 B2, hereinafter Noboru) in view of Kim (KR 20060000203 A) and Giardino et al. (US 20170055552 A1, hereinafter Giardino).
Regarding claim 14, Noboru teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above.
Noboru does not disclose:
wherein a partial flow of carbonated water can be fed into the heater, wherein the partial flow can be mixed with a main flow to the heater, and wherein the partial flow amounts to between 5 % and 50 % of a total flow to the heater.
However, Kim discloses, in the similar field of dispensing water (Abstract, “a carbonated water dispenser”), where the carbonated water can be fed into a heater (Page 4, Para. 4 from end, “the present invention proposes a method in which the mixing bomb bay 22 is maintained at room temperature by installing a heater inside the mixing bomb bay 22 to heat the heater.”, and Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “In addition, carbon dioxide gas has to be injected into the mixed bomb bay 22 in order to generate carbonated water.”, where after carbonated water is sent, a flow of just purified water can be sent, “Page 3, Para. 5 from end, “Of course, it is also possible to branch off a separate pipe from the purified water pipe 17 without supplying carbon dioxide gas and supply cold water to the purified water dispenser tap 25 through the first discharge valve 23.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heater in Noboru to receive a flow of carbonated water as taught by Kim.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to maintain carbonated water at a specific temperature, which can allow a user to have access to heated carbonated water as stated by Kim, Page 2, last Para., “Bombay for the production of carbonated water in the freezer compartment door and a temperature control device is provided to maintain a constant temperature in the Bombay and the temperature in the mixed Bombay by this temperature control device”.
Further, Giardino discloses, in the similar field of dispensing water (Abstract, “an upstream inlet configured to receive the liquid and a downstream outlet configured to dispense the solution”), where the carbonated water flow can be controlled to be partial between 5 to 50% of the total liquid flow (Para. 0057, “In certain examples, the valves maintain flow rates and pressures across multiple incoming fluids (e.g. gases, liquids, carbonated beverages, such that multiple fluids mix together in the device. The valves can be set at any selected fluid mixing ratio (e.g. 1:1, 5:1, 30:1).”; where in modified Noboru, there would be an additional line connecting the carbonated water into the heater as taught by Kim, where there is already a line connected to valve 31C for supplying water to the heater; where Giardino discloses that a mixing ratio of the valves can be 1:1, meaning that the flow rate of the carbonated water and the tap water into the heater can be equal or 50% of the flow each). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the valves of the fluid flow into the heater in modified Noboru to have a specific mixing ratio as taught by Giardino.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to allow a user to control the specific mixing ratio of the fluid within the heater, where this can provide a user with more control over the fluid composition, as stated by Giardino, Para. 0057, “In certain examples, the valves maintain flow rates and pressures across multiple incoming fluids (e.g. gases, liquids, carbonated beverages, such that multiple fluids mix together in the device. The valves can be set at any selected fluid mixing ratio (e.g. 1:1, 5:1, 30:1).”.
Claims 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noboru et al. (JP 3747536 B2, hereinafter Noboru) in view of Kim (KR 20060000203 A) and Wang (CN 203295267 U).
Regarding claim 16, Noboru teaches the apparatus according to claim 15, as set forth above, discloses wherein the heater is connectible to a pressurized carbon dioxide gas container (Para. 0021, “The carbon dioxide gas treatment system 6B according to the second embodiment is to make carbon dioxide gas act on the hot water 30b in the hot water tank 38 to make the hot water 30b neutral or acidic, and carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 50 is used. A pressure reducing valve 61B for reducing the pressure to a predetermined pressure (for example, 0.3 to 1 atm), a gas pipe 38b connecting between the pressure reducing valve 61B and the bottom of the hot water tank 38, and a gas electromagnetic valve interposed in the gas pipe 38b”, where Fig. 4 shows that the heater for dispensing warm water 39 is located with a tank 38, where the carbon dioxide is introduced into the tank through line 38b, where the dosing valve is the gas electromagnetic valve 64).
Noboru does not disclose:
wherein the water dispenser comprises two switching valves connected in series, which can be controlled alternately; and/or
wherein water can be fed from the carbonator into the heater; and/or
wherein the introduction of carbon dioxide is adjustable based on a degree of hardness of input water.
However, Kim discloses, in the similar field of dispensing water (Abstract, “a carbonated water dispenser”), where the carbonated water can be fed into a heater (Page 4, Para. 4 from end, “the present invention proposes a method in which the mixing bomb bay 22 is maintained at room temperature by installing a heater inside the mixing bomb bay 22 to heat the heater.”, and Page 3, Para. 3 from end, “In addition, carbon dioxide gas has to be injected into the mixed bomb bay 22 in order to generate carbonated water.”, where after carbonated water is sent, a flow of just purified water can be sent, “Page 3, Para. 5 from end, “Of course, it is also possible to branch off a separate pipe from the purified water pipe 17 without supplying carbon dioxide gas and supply cold water to the purified water dispenser tap 25 through the first discharge valve 23.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heater in Noboru to receive a flow of carbonated water as taught by Kim; where in modified Noboru, there would be an additional line connecting the carbonated water into the heater as taught by Kim, where there is already a line connected to valve 31C for supplying water to the heater and where the valves that are present for each line can be controlled separately.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to maintain carbonated water at a specific temperature, which can allow a user to have access to heated carbonated water as stated by Kim, Page 2, last Para., “Bombay for the production of carbonated water in the freezer compartment door and a temperature control device is provided to maintain a constant temperature in the Bombay and the temperature in the mixed Bombay by this temperature control device”.
Further, Wang discloses, in the similar field of water dispensing devices (Para. 0001, “water processing device field”), where the introduction of carbon dioxide is adjustable based on the degree of hardness of the water (Para. 0009, “carbon dioxide gas is fully used to reduce water hardness and reduces the emission of carbon dioxide; device by pressurizing and dissolving, fully mixing the carbon dioxide and water”, where carbon dioxide can be introduced depending on the degree of hardness, where the carbon dioxide reduces the hardness of the water). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the carbon dioxide introduction into water from modified Noboru to include reducing hardness as taught by Wang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of a new treatment process that is simple, economic, and effective to use, where it can adjust the water pH from Noboru and hardness from Wang, as stated by Wang, Para. 0003, “using carbon dioxide in water hardness is a new treatment process, the process is simple, economic and effective, increasingly popular people, how to fully mix the carbon dioxide and water, reacting becomes the technical core of the technology”.
Claims 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noboru et al. (JP 3747536 B2, hereinafter Noboru) in view of Smith et al. (US 20120225801 A1, hereinafter Smith).
Regarding claim 17, Noboru teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses an assembly, comprising:
the water dispenser as claimed in claim 11 (Para. 0007, “A first beverage supply system 4, a second beverage supply system 5 for supplying a beverage other than a coffee beverage to the cup 21, such as carbonated beverages and noncarbonated beverages, and hot water used for extraction of coffee beverages.”, where water is dispensed through the coffee, carbonated beverage, or noncarbonated beverage).
Noboru does not disclose:
wherein the assembly can dispense water;
a cartridge for water treatment, through which water is supplied to the water dispenser, wherein the cartridge is configured for releasing magnesium, silicon, lithium, and/or zinc into the water.
However, Smith discloses, in the similar field of dispensing water (Claim 10, “an outlet for dispensing a product stream of either caustic or detergent having an increased pH of at least 10 exiting from the electrochemical cell.”), where there is a cartridge for water treatment that can release magnesium, silicon, lithium, and/or zinc into the water (Para. 0093, “water treatment component according to the invention includes a treatment reservoir including one or more catalysts positioned therein. In some embodiments, the catalyst includes a water treatment agent bound to a supporting material, wherein the water treatment agent is selected from the group consisting of a source of magnesium, zinc, titanium and iron ions and combinations of the same.”, where the treatment reservoir can be a cartridge, Para. 0095, “The reservoir may be any shape or size appropriate for the use of the water and the volume of water to be treated, including for example, a tank, a cartridge”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the water dispenser in Noboru to include the water treatment cartridge as taught by Smith.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to reduce the hardness of the water, where this would reduce the amount of deposits within the system and reduce the need to clean the water dispenser, as stated by Smith, Para. 0072, “As a result, use of a water treatment component in the in situ cleaning systems according to the invention minimizes the amount of chemicals added to the resulting cleaning agent compared to non-treated water sources and increases the efficacy of the cleaning agent. In addition, use of a water treatment component according to the invention reduces the amount of hard water deposits, scales, and build up occurring on surfaces contacted by a feed water, providing an additional benefit of reducing the need to clean the in situ cleaning system itself.”.
Regarding claim 18, modified Noboru teaches the apparatus according to claim 17, as set forth above.
Modified Noboru does not disclose:
wherein the cartridge contains an ion exchange material loaded with magnesium and/or zinc; wherein the ion exchange material is loaded with magnesium or zinc to a degree of at least 50 % of its total capacity; and/or
wherein the ion exchange material is loaded with hydrogen and/or sodium to a degree of less than 20 % of its total capacity.
However, Smith discloses where the magnesium amount within the ion exchange material is at least 50% of its total capacity (Para. 0108, “the resin is substantially loaded with a plurality of one or more multivalent cations, which may include a mixture of calcium and magnesium ions. The calcium and magnesium ions may be loaded on to the resin material at a ratio of from about 1: 10 to about 10: 1, about 1:5 to about 5:1, about 1:3 to about 3:1, about 1:2 to about 2: 1, or from about 1: 1 of calcium ions to magnesium ions.”, where a 1:10 ratio of calcium to magnesium would mean that magnesium is greater than 50% of the total capacity of the resin; regarding the zinc, hydrogen, and sodium, it is the Examiner’s position that these are optional limitations and would be obvious to try through experimenting with different ion combinations in order to reduce the hardness of the water). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the cartridge with resin in modified Noboru to include the specific magnesium ratio as taught by Smith.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to control the water hardness without substantially altering the water source, as stated by Smith, Para. 0106, “In additional embodiments of the invention, the water treatment component may include a resin material to control water hardness without substantially altering the water source.”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ming et al. (CN 210438527 U, hereinafter Ming) discloses a similar carbon dioxide introduction into water, however the water includes waste.
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
01/12/2026